


Fabled

by Xu_My



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Everyone stays clear of the forest, Jun is from a small town, M/M, Theres a tale of a witch living in the woods, Until one night Jun stumbles upon a house, Witches, based on Howl's Moving Castle kinda, mentioned Meanie, not really besides a few similar elements
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-02
Updated: 2018-12-21
Packaged: 2019-06-29 11:48:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15728796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Xu_My/pseuds/Xu_My
Summary: “Never go into the woods at night, for the witch could be watching your every move”“And if you hear three knocks on a tree”“You better run before the witch can catch you..”





	1. Chapter 1

He could always remember the story, but I mean why would he forget it?

_“Deep in the woods, hidden under a blanket of darkness, the Witch of the Forest lived. The witch was evil and feasted on young children, leaving them never to be seen again”_

_“Never go into the woods at night, for the witch could be watching your every move”_

_“And if you hear three knocks on a tree”_

_“You better run before the witch can catch you”_

Junhui had been surrounded by that story his whole life, the story of some creepy witch in the forest.

He was sure every small town had a creepy tale to go along with it, and he just couldn’t believe it was actually true. There was no evidence of a witch. Sure, a while back some kids went missing, but that doesn’t mean the witch was real.

They probably just managed to get out of this town... Not that it was the worst place ever! It was actually pretty nice, he had lots of friends and a pretty decent education.

But he still wanted to leave, travel someplace where he could get lost and meet new people, see the sea and touch the highest buildings in the world.

_“The world is huge and open, Junhui, and your journey begins with your first step”_

His mother said those words to him on his first day of school, when he had been too afraid to leave the house. And he realized that she was right, every journey begins with a first step.

The first step was the hardest, especially after his mother had died. He couldn’t possibly leave his dad and family after that, even if he always dreamed of studying abroad in some magical place where he could even find love.

The dreams of a sparkling city, shining under the bright stars would have to wait.

If anyone asked, he would give one of his famous charming grins and nod that everything was okay. He had family and people here that he wanted to remain in his life forever. 

And one of those people was waiting by the sidewalk, just for him.

“Hey Wonwoo!”

The male in question looked up from the book in his hands and pushed his circle frames up his face. “Hey Jun.”

Junhui walked over to his dear friend and pulled the younger close, slinging his arm over the others shoulders, “So I was thinking of how you and Mingyu should name your first child after me.”

Wonwoo’s eyes widened and a cough burst from his throat from surprise. He held his chest as coughs rocked his body and Junhui lightly patted his back for help.

“I mean, when one of you finally confesses,” Junhui continued, happily walking down the street, “you’ll both remember all the times where I would say, ‘Oh Mingyu, doesn’t Wonwoo look good in his new glasses’ and ‘Wonwoo, Mingyu needs a hug because he’s so tired’, you know?” His hands waved wildly with every word he spoke.

The embarrassed boy followed behind him, clutching the book to his chest as he fought off the heat in his cheeks. “Who says one of us will confess?”

Junhui spun around on his heel to face him, “Ah there there, don’t be a pessimist!” His excited tone mixed with the light frost in the air, casting a vapor from his lips. “You two were meant to be together!”

Wonwoo let out a huff, his warm breath casting a cloud in the chilly air, “Come on, let’s get there before Mingyu starts complaining”

-

“Did you really bring a book to a party?” Mingyu first said as he opened the door and brought Jun out from his thoughts of the changing color of the falling leaves.

Wonwoo looked shy at his words, holding the book even closer as he pushed his glasses up his face, “Well my book was getting good.”

Mingyu gave him a fond smile, his sharp canines peaking through, “Hyung, you’re funny.”

The compliment caused a rosy tint on Wonwoo’s face that wasn’t just from the cold outside. Jun couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the two.

“Let’s go, I’m thirsty!” Jun announced and pushed into Mingyu’s house, leaving the two behind for privacy. 

Already there was a group of people dancing in the living room, loud music blaring from the speakers, playing a song that sounded familiar but Jun couldn’t quite place his finger on.

People were scattered throughout the hall leading to the kitchen where more people sat down with drinks in their hands and a smoke in the air that Jun honestly didn’t want to know where it came from.

“Junhui!” Someone called out, “Take a shot with me!”

While normally Jun wasn’t one to drink, something about tonight seemed different, maybe it was the changing season or some weird feeling in the air that caused him to say, “Okay!”

There was a round of cheers and a glass was pressed into his hands which he took without a second thought, the alcohol burned his throat as it went down.

A weight seemed to lift from his chest as he took shot after another, enjoying the light feelings like he was floating. His mind was a little blurry around the edges and words came out of his mouth without realizing but everyone else was just as faded as he was, not caring about the consequences of tomorrow, and Jun seemed to forget about his responsibilities and his forgotten dreams of the glittery cities in the distance. 

Now everything past in a blur, but he could recall a game of truth or dare. That made sense as to where he ended up, though he couldn’t quite remember the car ride to the edge of the dark forest. 

After getting out of the car and looking at the gloomy trees, he managed to sober up just a bit. 

“Wait what’s happening?” Jun lightly slurred, still staring at the black blanket stretching into the sky and covering the surrounding stars. 

“Dude we have to go down a trail!” Someone said, grabbing onto a friend before making his way into the inky greenery.

It felt like a bubble had caught in his throat as he stared at the foreboding forest, every nerve in his body tingled to turn away and go back to Mingyu’s house where Wonwoo was probably worried sick, but there was also a beating in his heart that told him to go forward after the small group of people already heading down the trail, leaving him behind.

After a moment of debating, he made a decision.

He hurried after the traveling people into what, he worried, could possibly be his doom.

The sound of crunching leaves seemed to echo under his feet with every step he took as he tried not to stumble. The alcohol was still affecting his movements, but the thoughts rushing through his head left him more and more aware.

He couldn’t see very far, the dense overhead branches blocked out most of the light from the night sky. The air seemed cooler as he moved to catch up with the others, making goosebumps crawl up his arms.

Looking around he could swear he saw movement from the corner of his eye and images of the Witch of the Forest suddenly came to life in his mind. 

Trying not to panic, he hurried his steps to catch up to the group who seemed further and further away.

A pressure built in his chest when even the sounds of the animals seemed to stop. He ran now, a panic caught in his throat and down his chest when he thought he had heard the sound of crunching leaves behind him.

Everything seemed to pause when his foot got snagged on a fallen branch and he stumbled down. His eyes were closed, but he felt his body roll and suddenly stop when he hit the forest floor. A wheeze left him as he struggled to catch his breath. When he opened his eyes, the edges of his vision were fuzzy and his head felt like it was about to explode.

He managed to push himself to his feet, but his body felt light again, he knew he needed to go somewhere before he passed out.

Trees became more warped as he stumbled, holding onto them for dear life as he struggled to find someplace he could lay down.

Then, as if his prayers were answered, a house came into his vision. He couldn’t think, it hurt too much as he made his way to the front porch. He clutched onto the railings of the steps and stumbled to the door, where it seemed to open without his help. The house appeared to be empty from what he could tell by the dim moonlight seeping through a broken window. 

The pain from his head was too much to bare and he fell to his knees, his vision finally cutting out. He heard himself hit the floor, but didn’t feel it. The last thought in his head was the odd smell of smoke and tea in the air.


	2. Chapter 2

The first thought of Junhui's mind in the morning was that he was not in his own bed. In fact, he should be on a hard cold surface if his memory served. So, why was he on something soft?

His eyes shot open, which he instantly regretted due to the large amount of sunlight streaming in through the window. He caught sight of green before he couldn't take the light. He slowly pushed himself up into a sitting position, eyes still closed and his head was pounding. What had happened last night? The last thing he remembers was a house in the forest, he should not be on a comfy surface right now.

Reluctantly, he pried open his eyes and glanced around the no longer empty room. There was plants everywhere, stuffed in pots, hanging from the ceiling, bundled under the kitchen window. Other oddities were sitting on shelves and there were books everywhere, thrown haphazardly. Wonwoo would be offended by the disrespect of the books. Wait Wonwoo!

Jun jumped to his feet, almost falling back onto the couch as a wave of nausea overcame him. He needed to get home, Wonwoo was probably freaking out over him. He walked to the front and grabbed the bronze handle when a voice stopped him, "I wouldn't leave if I were you, at least not until the master is back."

He spun on his heel and glanced around the room, looking for where the voice could have came from.

"Right here, Buddy" His gaze fell on a large open book. There was no way...

"You listening to me?" The book's pages fluttered and Jun let out a squeak, taking a few steps back. This was not happening, he must have hit his head last night when he fell.

"Wow, you aren't the smartest of the bunch are you?" A page flipped.

"I've totally lost it.." Jun mumbled and took a few hesitant steps towards the book. It was a huge thing, covering almost a third of the old wooden table underneath it. The pages were stained yellow and the writing looked like some weird mixture of symbols he had never seen before.

"You haven't lost anything, trust me I would know" the voice rang from the book, almost scaring Junhui again.

"Um, Mr. Book" Jun started, trying to gather his thoughts, "Where am I? How can you speak? What do you mean master?"

The book tutted, "One question at a time kid, do I look like an Encyclopedia to you?"

Junhui wanted to yell and run away, his head was spinning with a hangover and he was just so confused, "Okay where am I?"

There was a click behind him and he turned to the door. It opened to reveal a man walking in and Jun's breath got caught in his throat. The man was..ethereal. Long dark hair framed his face, making his dark eyes pop against his tan skin. He wore a long black jacket and in his hands was a basket, full of more greenery. The man stopped when he saw Jun standing in the middle of the room, mouth opened in surprise.

"Oh, you are awake" He spoke with a soft melodious voice and closed the door behind him. He strolled over to the small kitchen, "Alastor, have you made our guest feel uncomfortable?"

"Of course not!" The book fluttered its pages wildly.

"Why don't I believe you" The man turned his attention to Jun, "You must be in pain, come take a seat."

At a loss for words, Junhui slowly walked over and took a seat in one of the wooden chairs of the kitchen. The man busied himself by placing the plants from the basket into other pots already filled. Junhui watched him, feeling tense.

After a few minutes the man turned back to him, "I'm Minghao by the way" He introduced and took a seat across from Jun.

"How..did I get here, what is happening?" Jun's voice felt scratchy from the alcohol the night before, but he wasn't about to complain.

Minghao glanced over him for a few moments, making Jun feel even more tense, before looking over out the window.

"You came here last night with a bad head injury, you almost died"

The breath got knocked from Junhui's throat. He had almost died..? "How- How am I alive?"

The shorter man finally looked back at Junhui, an odd look behind his dark eyes, "I saved you. I'm a witch."

Junhui almost laughed, but the man looked straightforward, "You can't be serious."

Minghao waved his fingers and a tea kettle from the stove started steaming. Junhui watched in amazement as a cup floated down from a cabinet and was filled with tea by the kettle. The glass floated over and landed gently in front of him, the dark liquid inside swirling to life.

Now, Jun was truly at a loss for words. He reached forward and cautiously grabbed the handle, "How do I know this won't kill me?"

The witch almost rolled his eyes, "After I spent all that time fixing you up? I'm not gonna just waste my magic like that."

Junhui nodded more to himself before slowly taking a sip of the amber tea. As it slid down his throat, his head became less foggy.

"So then" He fiddled with the cup in his hands, "You're a witch."

The dark haired man nodded.

"And the book?" He glanced over to the loud thing.

"One of my familiars, an annoying one if you ask me."

The book came back to life with a, "Hey!" then flipped its pages, causing a small gust of wind.

"Not now" Minghao waved his fingers once more and the book shut with a snap.

"I have to go" Junhui sprung to his feet. 

The witch didn't look surprised. 

"That is fine, but you owe me a life debt."

"A what?" Junhui cocked his head in confusion.

"I saved your life, therefore you owe me" Minghao answered simply.

"W-Well, how am I supposed to pay you back?" Fear crept up his throat.

"Help me find my heart" The witch said softly, observing for Junhui's reaction.

Jun blinked at him, not saying anything. 

"Swear to help me find my heart and I will allow you to leave" The witch grabbed Junhui's tea and took a sip, keeping his gaze on the astonished man.

"I can't do that! Why can't you find it?" Jun tried to reason.

Minghao tapped his cup with one of his painted nails, silent for a moment. "I cannot leave this property."

"But" Junhui hesitated, "Why not?"

"The details are not important right now" Minghao stood, setting the cup back on the table. "Come back in a few days and you will help me find my heart."

What was he supposed to say? The man did save his life, but.. this whole thing flipped reality on his head. While lost in thought, Minghao reached forward and lightly grasped his hand. Jun almost flinched away, but Minghao had a firm grip. He pulled off a ring from his finger and gently placed it on Junhui's index. "This will help you find your way back here."

His tone was warm but his hand was cold, Junhui pulled away from the witch and observed the simple gold band around his finger. 

"Then," Jun took a breath, "I will come back."

Minghao's lips raised into a smile and Jun's heart beat against his chest.

"Until then," Minghao raised an eyebrow, waiting.

"Junhui" He supplied to the witch after figuring out his questioning look.

"Junhui" Minghao raised his hand and blew dust into Jun's face which caused him to cough and double over.

Then suddenly, he sat up in his own bed. 

Jun glanced around his room, was that all a dream?

He looked down at his hand and noticed the small gold band. It wasn't a dream. It wasn't a dream and he was in debt.

And even worse, Wonwoo was definitely going to kill him.

**Author's Note:**

> This fic was a sudden burst of inspiration so sorry if there are mistakes or anything. I might change the title later too.


End file.
